Chapter 16

Song: Dancing's Not a Crime by Panic! At the Disco

[The Mute Alpha - Chapter 16]

*Unedited*

•••

*Jax's POV*

Lately Autumn has been acting weird. She's been sending me strange looks and she keeps staring at my arms. I don't understand why. Maybe something's bothering her...

"Alpha," a voice said, bringing me back from my thoughts. I looked up at the door to my office. Ryland stood by the door with a worried expression on his face. I sat straighter in my chair. I nodded my head, motioning for him to proceed. He hesitated at first before opening his mouth, "Uh...Alpha Anthony..." he trailed off with a frown. I rose an eyebrow, urging him to continue. "There was a rogue attack. His mate..."

I quickly stood up and rushed out of the room, Ryland following behind me. 'Theo,' I mind-linked, 'Get the car started.'

It didn't take Theo long to reply, 'Yes, Alpha.' I quickly walked down the hall to my room where I grabbed a bag and shoved some clothes in it. Then I pulled my phone out and sent Autumn a text telling her to come home. She was hanging out with her new friend at the mall.

It didn't take her long to come back home. And when she did, she quickly ran up the stairs and found me in her room packing her bag. She stared at me in confusion. "What's going on?" she asked. I showed her my phone since I had already typed the answer. She gasped. "I hope she's okay..."

I continued digging through her drawers. I smirked when I came across something familiar. I glanced at Autumn and when she wasn't looking, I stuffed them in her bag. Once I was done, I picked up her bag along with mine and carried them down to the car where Theo was waiting.

He tossed me the keys and we all got in. The car was completely silent, no one speaking a word. Autumn gazed out the window, looking dazed. I wonder what's going on in her mind. If only I could read her mind.

Then my mind wandered over to Alpha Anthony and his mate. I felt so bad for him. I can't imagine what he's going through. If something happened to my mate, I'd be going insane.

My hands tightened around the steering wheeling, my knuckles turning the color of paper. What if something does happen to her? Especially since he is after her.

The whole ride to Anthony's pack was endless and uneventful. I parked the car on the driveway in front of Anthony's house. We all got out with our bags and went to the front door. Theo rang the door bell and we waited until the door opened, revealing a tired and stressed looking Anthony. His hair was untamed and he had large, dark circles under his eyes.

When he saw me, he stepped forward and gave me a hug. Then he stepped back and motioned for us to go inside. "There are two spare rooms upstairs. Put your things in there and then meet me here. I was going to head over to the pack hospital to check up on Malia, if you guys wanted to come."

'Yeah, let's go with him,' I told Theo. He nodded and told Anthony that we were coming with him. We trudged up the fancy staircase and we were met with a big open room that contained doors.

"Anthony said that one of the guest rooms are down that way," Theo said pointing in one direction and then he pointed the other way, "And the other guest room is over there."

Autumn and I nodded and went one way as Theo walked in the opposite direction. As we entered the bedroom. The room was average but looked comfortable. There was a large King-sized bed by the wall with two nightstands on the sides of it. There were a couple windows and two doors, one leading to the bathroom and one to the closet.

We sat our bags on the bed and then it dawned on me that Autumn and I would be sharing a bed. A smile tugged on my lips at the thought.

A few minutes later we were standing by the door with Anthony. We left the house and drove over to the pack hospital. When we entered the building, the smell of illness wafted through my nose, making me feel a little nauseous.

Anthony walked over to the front desk where a lady with glasses was sitting and talking on the phone. When she noticed Anthony, she quickly told the person on the phone the hold. "Hello, Alpha," she said politely and bowed her head, "Luna Malia got moved to room 315."

Anthony nodded his head and motioned us to follow him. We got in an elevator and waited in silence until it reached the right floor. Then we went down a hallway that had a bunch of rooms. Anthony knocked gently on the door and a nurse opened it. She gave her Alpha a small smile and opened the door even more, gesturing for us to come in.

The room was small and contained a bed. Malia laid on the center of the bed on her back. And I couldn't help but notice the pained expression on Anthony's face when he saw the condition his mate was in. I, too, felt myself feel sad, since she is a friend of mine.

There were a bunch of wires connected to her from a machine and she was covered in bandages and dry cuts and bruises. Her tired eyes were focused on her mate and he walked over to her bed. He sat down on the edge of it and gently brushed his fingers across her cheeks. His glossy eyes stared at her as a stray tear rolled down his cheek.

"I'm so sorry, baby," he whispered, his voice wavering, "I wasn't there to protect you..." He leaned forward and placed a small kiss on her forehead. "I'll kill whoever did this to you," he promised, determination settled in his voice.

I glanced over at Autumn, who was staring at the couple with sad eyes. "We should give them some space," she suggested as she turned to move towards the door.

"W-Wait," Malia's weak voice made her freeze. "P-Please come here."

Warily, Autumn walked over to stand next to Anthony. Malia's dark eyes gave her a once over and she flashed her a weak smile. "You're so beautiful," she commented.

Autumn's face flushed as she returned her the smile, "Thank you. And so are you."

"You are so damn gorgeous. Jax is one lucky Alpha." I smiled.

"I'm so glad I am finally able to meet you. He stopped at our pack when he was searching for you. I told him to let me meet you when he finds you. I guess he kept his word," Autumn glanced at me with a small smile before she turned back to Malia as she continued chatting, "I'm Malia, by the way."

"Autumn," my mate replied.

"Even your name is breathtaking. It's not fair," Malia pouted.

"I don't know what you are talking about. You're the sexiest woman on the planet," Anthony said as he leaned forward to peck her lips.

"You're only saying that because you want to have sex as soon as I'm out of this hell of a place," Malia smirked as she sent him a pointed look.

Anthony chuckled, "That's true, but you are extremely sexy."

Theo scratched the back of his neck and coughed awkwardly when he heard the couple saying suggestive things to each other. Autumn stepped away from them and walked back over to us. "Maybe that'll be us one day," she whispered in my ear, making my stomach flutter. Theo choked when he overheard Autumn.

•••

The other's left the room a little bit later and I stayed behind because there were some things I wanted to ask Malia. So they told me they were going to get some food and they'd bring some back for Malia.

Can you tell me what happened?

I held out my phone with the question on it. Malia's eyes scanned over my question. After she finished reading it, she frowned and stared up at the ceiling for a couple of seconds.

She cleared her throat before responding. "I was walking into the store to pick up some groceries when a group of men jumped me. No one noticed and they pulled me to the side of the building. Then they started attacking me and..." she sucked in a sharp breath, "t-touching me."

She looked away from me. "I've never felt so violated in my life..." she whispered, "I tried putting up a fight, but there wasn't a chance I would win because it was five against one."

The room was filled with silence as she thought about what happened. I could tell from the way her eyes glazed over as she stared at the wall in front of the bed.

"They were yelling things at me and hitting me. When they were done, they left me bleeding on the ground. I thought...I-I thought I was going to d-die... If it wasn't for the store manager, I probably would've bled to death. Those wounds were so bad that it was taking forever to heal."

She sent me a weak smile before closing her eyes. "You have a very beautiful mate, Jaxton. You are very likely to have her and she is very lucky to have you."

I nodded my head in agreement. "What pack is she from?" She asked.

Crystal Mountain, I typed.

"Oh, so it didn't take you that long to find her. It would've sucked if she lived at the farthest pack," she joked, making me chuckle.

"Have you marked her yet?"

My eyes darted to her in shock. Then I sighed and shook my head.

No, we haven't even kissed yet.

When Malia read my answer her eyes widened in surprise. "Seriously? Not even a peck?" Her mouth fell open when I shook my head. "How the fuck have you not devoured her? Like seriously! You are lying to me. How are you able to resist her?"

I really do want to kiss her and do things to her but I'm afraid she's not ready.

"Aw," Malia cooed, "That's so cute. You respect her and I respect you for that. You know, when I first met Anthony we couldn't keep our horny wolves away from each other." I'm not even a bit surprised they didn't wait. Based on what I've seen when I'm around them, they are never able to keep their hands off each other.

Malia released a yawn and her eyes fluttered closed. "I'm going to take a nap," she told me as she yawned once again.

I nodded my head and got off the chair that was next to her bed. "Goodbye, Jax. Hopefully I'll see you soon."

I sent her a smile before I left the room, quietly closing the door behind me.

•••

"You seriously packed these?" Autumn cried out when she saw what I had packed in her bag earlier.

I glanced up from my phone and smirked when I saw what she was holding up. She glowered at me and chucked them at my face. I caught them before they could hit me in the face. Before I threw them back at her, I stared at the fabric in my hands. Suddenly a feeling washed over me and I quickly tossed the undergarment back to her before I my mind could deepen my thoughts.

Autumn disappeared in the bathroom with clothes in her hand.

I placed my phone on the table beside the bed and laid down on the bed. I had already changed and was waiting for Autumn to finish up getting ready for bed.

Finally after what seemed like forever, Autumn came walking out of the bathroom. I glanced over at her as she turned the light off and my eyes practically budge out of their sockets.

Fuck.

She was only wearing a thin, black tank top and the lacy underwear. I slowly blinked as my mouth ran dry.

Why is she doing this to me?

She climbed into the bed, pulling the covers up to her neck. The air was filled with an awkward silence, both of us laying on our backs and staring up at the ceiling. Malia was right. I really do want to ravish Autumn. I want her. But I didn't know how to tell her.

I rolled onto my side and stared at Autumn through the dark, making out the outline of her face. When she sensed my stare, she turned to face me as well. I scooted closer to her and snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her into my body.

We stayed quiet, our breaths mixing together as our minds drifted unconscious and welcomed sleep.

And let's just say, it was the best sleep I've had in a while.

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Hey guys!!! So I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It's just about 1:00 a.m. right now 😂 and I'm not going to be going to bed any time soon. Anyways, thank you guys so much for reading and I hope you guys vote!!!

~Jordan ❤️